A White Rocket Sacrifice
by Kalarin
Summary: James and Meowth awaken a much darker force than a beauty sleep deprived Jessie. Blueshipping, dark supernatural themes, sort of a split-continuity from the late Johto season. And mpreg. The horrors.
1. Harvest

I decided to take some risks.

 **Warning:** This story will contain slightly adult, possibly triggering, (but not graphic) concepts. Also, there will be blueshipping, which is James and Meowth. Don't worry, it's consensual and Meowth is the top (cat). There will also be male pregnancy, but it will be explained and it will not be romanticized (for reasons that will become obvious in later chapters).

Sorry if that spoils the plot, but there needed to be a warning.

-O-o-O-o-O-

In the forest between Kanto and Johto, darkness was falling fast. So Team Rocket pitched a tent.

"We can catch up to those twerps in the morning," Jessie told James and Meowth.

"Why don't we take back the night and catch 'em in a little dance in the dark?" Meowth asked.

Jessie pointed to the sky, where dark clouds were rolling in. "There's probably going to be a storm soon, and I'd hate to be out in such weather."

James and Meowth watched the sky. The clouds were certainly dark, but they didn't look like the usual storm clouds. Then again, neither James nor Meowth was a meteorologist, or even experienced in reading weather charts.

"Anyway, I need my beauty sleep." With that, Jessie disappeared into the tent, leaving James and Meowth to sit and ponder their next move.

"Guess I won't be watching the moon tonight," Meowth said, squinting through the trees.

"Guess not," James murmured absently.

Meowth peered over at his teammate, debating whether or not he should move closer. He and James had only admitted their feelings for each other a few weeks ago and they hadn't really had much time alone together since then. Meowth wasn't sure if he could control himself if they touched right now; he might come on too strong.

"I hope she'll let us in the tent when the rain starts," James said. "I don't think I've fully recovered from that cold."

Meowth chuckled. "What, was my nursing you back to health not enough?"

James drew his knees up, smiling. "You were fine. It was a bad cold. You could've only done so much."

"If you'd let Jessie help, I coulda had you up in a day."

"Well, I didn't want her getting sick too. That strain of the virus didn't affect Pokémon." James brushed a stray lock of hair from his face. "Anyway, being in the rain doesn't cause colds."

Meowth looked up at the sky again. "I ain't so sure those are rain clouds."

James looked up too. "They're the wrong color. I've never seen blood red rain clouds before."

Meowth decided it was safe to rest his head against James. "What kinda cloud would be crimson, anyway?"

James moved his arm to accommodate Meowth's head. "Not crimson. Blood red. There's a difference."

Meowth rolled his eyes playfully. "You and your fashion." He readjusted his position as James leaned back against a tree. "So what's the difference?"

"Blood red is what you'll be seeing if you don't keep it down out there," Jessie called from the tent.

They glanced nervously at the tent and scampered away towards the bushes, hopefully out of earshot.

"Blood red is like Jessie's hair, only a bit darker," James said, as they made themselves comfortable again. "And crimson is slightly more towards the purple end of the spectrum."

"Fascinating," Meowth said. He wasn't much for fashion, but he didn't have anything else to talk about. "And what's the difference between purple and your hair color?"

James tittered. "My hair is really more lavender than purple. More toward the blue end, like your lovely eyes." James's abrupt silence and averted gaze told Meowth that those last four words weren't meant to be spoken aloud. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it awkward." His voice grew uncharacteristically shy.

"No, it's okay. We've had, what, only a month to come to terms with this? I shoulda known you'd need more time," Meowth said quickly, trying to wave away any tension.

"It's not that I doubt my feelings for you. It's that…" James stared off into the distance worriedly. "I fear the consequences. How do I know this is right?"

"Whaddya mean 'right?' We're Team Rocket. When have we ever cared about what's right?"

James shook his head. "Not like that! I mean, I've never heard of anyone else having a relationship like this with a Pokémon. Am I crazy or is my brain wired incorrectly?" James pressed his forehead to his bended knee.

"You're no crazier than any other Team Rocket member. 'Course that'll change if you keep stressin' over stupid stuff."

James tilted his head to look at Meowth. "All I want is to be sure I'm not hurting you," he whispered.

Meowth looked into James's big green eyes and put a reassuring paw on his shoulder. "Jimmy, I've been blasted halfway across the country. Nothing you do is gonna hurt me."

James sighed. "After all you've been through with Meowzie, I'd never want you to suffer again if something happens to me."

Meowth cocked his head. "I thought you were talking about physical pain."

James's eyes widened. "I wouldn't hit you! I'm not like…" he glanced over at the tent. "Well, you know."

"I meant physical pain from doin' pleasurable things," Meowth clarified. He'd long since gotten used to James's ditzy moments.

James's brow furrowed slightly. "Like...vigorous aerobic exercise?"

Meowth sidled up to James. "Think more intimate."

James blinked. "Intense kissing?"

Meowth sighed exasperatedly. "No, more than that! I'm talkin' about jumpin' Cubones!"

James looked at him blankly.

"Jigglypuff pokery?" Meowth suggested. James cocked his head.

"Zigzagoonin'? Pumpin' fur? Playin' with the box? Blastin' off the meat rocket?" Meowth rattled off, arms flailing.

"I don't understand," James said.

"I'm talkin' about sex!" Meowth finally squawked, not caring if Jessie came out and whacked them both.

A blush rose in James's face. "Oh." His eyes darted, avoiding Meowth's gaze. "I'd never considered that." The shyness returned to his voice. "I don't know if that would be right."

"Do you wanna do it with me or not?" Meowth finally asked the question he'd been dying to ask.

"Yes," James answered wincingly. "But that'd probably hurt you. What if…what if I accidentally…" James's voice dropped in volume. "…crush your thing? Or what if you get stuck?"

"That's why we have lube." Meowth climbed into James's lap. "Haven't ya ever done this before, Jimmy?"

James smiled demurely. "No," he whispered. "I'm not very experienced." He stroked Meowth's paws with two fingers. "I've never even been with someone of my own species."

"Well, then." Meowth gently pushed James to the soft grass and caressed his lavender-not-quite-blue hair. "I got a lot to teach you."

Across the clearing, Jessie zipped up the tent's flap. She could very faintly hear a soft falsetto squeal and feline laughter. "If I'd known they were going to do that, I would've grabbed a second tent."

-O-o-O-

The rain Jessie had predicted never came. They would later wish it had.

The red clouds had parted just enough to reveal the full moon. Its light fell on the small clearing where James and Meowth lay, sleeping.

James's hair had fallen over his face, shielding his eyes from the bright light. Meowth, on the other hand, blinked his eyes against the glow. He wriggled out of James's arms and perched on a nearby rock to look at it.

He remembered when he used to look at the moon and think about Meowzie. Now he was looking at the moon after having found someone even better. That incident with the Shuckle had brought up feelings he thought he'd buried. He just hoped nothing happened to mess it all up again. He could probably come back from it, he was sure. He wasn't so sure it would be so easy for James.

Meowth tried to put any fears of failure out of his head. "Don't be a downer," he thought. "We can and will make this work, and if society doesn't like it, they can get bent."

He turned his mind to lighter things. The sex hadn't been half bad, for him having never been with a human and James having been a virgin. If they ever decided to do it again, they'd surely get better at it, unlike their constant chase of Pikachu. The gods of bad luck must've taken the night off. The sky had even cleared up a bit.

"I guess we ain't gettin' that shower after all," he thought, looking at his dry fur. He looked back at James still sleeping in the moonlight. His hair, as well as his white tank top and boxers (and scattered Team Rocket uniform) showed no signs of a downpour.

"If they're not storm clouds, then what are they?" Meowth wondered, looking back up at the sky.

Behind him, James stirred in his sleep. Before long, his hair fell back out of his face and he, too, was awakened by the light. "The light's on when the door's open," he muttered, still half-asleep. He saw Meowth on the rock. "What're you looking at?" he asked, yawning.

"James, does the moon seem brighter to you?" Meowth asked, craning his neck.

James looked up. "Maybe. Or it might only seem that way because of the clouds." He rubbed his eyes and did a double take. "Am I imagining things, or are those red clouds sinking?" He stood up to get a better look.

"No, you're not." Meowth jumped up. "They're headed straight for us!"

The clouds descended on them like a flock of Spearow. James ran for the bushes and Meowth ducked for cover behind the rock. A smoky tendril shot out of the cloud and swiped at James's ankles, knocking him to the dirt. He let out a pained shriek as his hip hit the ground.

"James, are you all right?" Meowth abandoned his hiding spot.

"Yes, but it's got me!" The tendril curled around James's legs, tying them together. He dug his fingers into the dirt as it began to drag him backwards, into the darkness.

"Hang on, Jimmy! I gotcha!" Meowth grabbed James's wrists. James clasped hands with Meowth. For good measure, Meowth wrapped his legs and tail around the rock behind him to anchor himself. "I won't let that thing take you!"

Jessie, minus her white overshirt and black gloves, ran into the clearing. "What is going on out here?" She saw the cloud tendril curling itself further up James's body. "What the hell is that?"

"Jessie, help us! I don't think I can hold on any longer!" James cried. He writhed in an attempt to dislodge the tendril, but it was no use.

Jessie dove to grab James from its clutches. "I don't know what you think you are, but you can't have him!" Another tendril shot out and knocked her across the clearing.

James's hands were slipping from Meowth's reach. "If it gets you, it'll have to take me too," Meowth growled, trying to pull James towards himself. Jessie once again tried to dodge the tendrils and get to either James or Meowth.

James glanced at her, then back at Meowth. "I can't let you guys get caught too." With that, he let go of Meowth's paw and the cloud dragged him off into the night.

"James, NO!" Jessie and Meowth screamed.

"I'm sorry!" James's voice was nearly lost among the trees as the clouds dissolved into darkness.

-O-o-O-

Across the forest, Ash rolled over and sat up in his sleeping bag.

"Did you hear that?" he asked sleepily to anyone who was awake.

"Pika…" Pikachu muttered in his sleep and pulled a pillow over his head.

"I heard Team Rocket." Ash yawned and peered into the woods.

"You're dreaming. Go back to sleep." Misty pulled the blanket over her head while Brock snored away.

"Eh, whatever." Ash shrugged and bundled himself up in his sleeping bag. "Gotta stop lighting up before bed."

-O-o-O-o-O-

Hopefully, I won't take ten years to write this one.


	2. Planting

This is where the possibly triggering material comes in. Some non-consensual things are implied to have happened off-screen. There are also dark occult themes mixed in with that.

Also, the m-preg is explained, so that's probably going to disturb someone.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Jessie ran laps around the clearing, searching for any trace of a trail or clues, with no luck. "Now how are we supposed to find him?"

Meowth snapped himself out of his daze and scanned the area. He grabbed James's white Team Rocket uniform shirt and sniffed a sleeve from armpit to wrist. Then he sniffed around the clearing until he picked up the scent. "Follow me."

Further up the trail, Ash had gotten up to the use the bathroom—or bushes, rather. He was finishing up when he saw Meowth running in his direction, followed by Jessie.

"Team Rocket?" He quickly put his tool away and zipped up his pants. "What are they up to now?"

But Jessie and Meowth ran right past him. "No time, Twerp," Jessie said, not even looking back.

Ash watched their retreating figures, confused. "Okay then." He went back to bed.

The forest only seemed to get thicker the further they followed James's scent. "I hope he's still in one piece." Jessie dodged the twisted tree trunks.

"Don't even think about that." Meowth ran steadfastly ahead.

The scent trail ended in a rocky clearing. In the center of the clearing stood a battered black stone temple. The wooden roof looked ready to cave in at any second. The red glass windows resembled fangs fresh from the kill. The bizarrely pristine wood doors were carved with the faces of unrecognizable monsters and arcane symbols. Standing guard in an open circle around the temple were jagged slabs of rock.

Jessie and Meowth took in the alien construction and unsettling lack of any plant life around the temple. "Are you sure this is it?" Jessie asked.

"If he's not here, I don't know where he could be." Meowth ran towards the steps of the temple, but stopped dead in his tracks.

"What? Why'd you stop?" Jessie followed Meowth to the steps. Meowth didn't answer. As she drew closer, she realized why. What looked like an odd trick of shadows and reflections from the windows was, upon further inspection, a massive red stain.

It was then that they realized the area was absolutely silent. No wild Pokémon in the bushes, no wind in the trees, no screams for help. They couldn't even hear their own breathing and heartbeats.

"It killed him." Meowth choked out.

"Stop assuming," Jessie hissed. "We don't know that!"

"Then why're the steps a darker shade of your hair?!" Meowth cried out. "Why isn't he callin' out for our help?!"

"He could be unconscious. We'll never know unless we go inside." Jessie walked right over the stain and up to the front door. "Are you coming?"

Meowth shuddered at the stain. Then he scampered up the steps, making sure not to touch the red mark. Even if it wasn't from James's blood, he wasn't about to incur the wrath of whoever left it.

The doors swung open easily. A hole in the roof let in the light of the fully exposed moon. Jessie and Meowth scanned the room, waiting for their eyes to adjust. The light reflecting off the windows cast sanguine shards across the floor. The stone walls were covered with the same foreign monsters and symbols as the door, only larger. Between them hung ancient tools bent at unearthly angles.

"These don't look like any tools I've seen, and I've seen a lot." Jessie inspected a dagger with an ornate handle.

"These look like occult tools," Meowth said, recognizing the dagger from a book he'd read. "But the ones I've seen weren't sinister, like these ones." He looked closer. There was an odd glint of color in the non-rusted part of the metal: not quite purple, yet not simply blue. He squinted and realized he was looking at a reflection.

Meowth spun to face the other way. Jessie followed suit. Now that their eyes had adjusted, they could make out a stone altar in the center of the room. The sides of the altar were stained with a deep red fluid. Eldritch lines and slashes scarred the base. At the foot of the altar sat a stone bowl of the red fluid.

And curled up on the altar in a baggy grey sack garment and facing away from them, lay James.

Both Jessie and Meowth ran to the altar. Meowth jumped onto the altar to check for a pulse, but drew back when James stiffened under his paw.

"You're alive." Meowth's voice wavered all over the words.

Jessie propped James up against herself. "Come on, talk to us." She patted his cheek with a surprising amount of gentleness.

James's eyelids fluttered open. "Jessie?" he said in a small, tremulous voice. He tried to sit up on his own, but winced and clutched at his lower body.

Jessie laid him back down. "Don't strain yourself. Let me see what's wrong." She lifted the skirt of the sack for an inspection. While she didn't find a wound, she did find more of the red fluid caked onto James's nether area.

"This red stuff doesn't look like blood," she thought aloud. "It has the consistency of ectoplasm."

"What kind of creature has red ectoplasm?" Meowth asked. "More importantly, where are they so I can kick their ass back to the grave?"

"You're too late," came a voice from behind.

James shrunk away, half-sobbing. "Oh, god, no."

Jessie put a protective arm over him while Meowth extended his claws. "All right, you bastard," he yelled in the direction of the voice, "what have you done to James?"

The voice snickered in the darkness. "I only finished the job you started, Meowth."

"Cut the cryptic crap and show yourself!" Jessie shouted.

A shadowy figure with the head of a Gastly stepped forward. "You planted the seed when you lay with him." The shadow gestured to James, who buried his face in his arms. "All I did was shape its development."

"And just what does that mean?" Meowth demanded.

"Are you so simple I have to spell everything out for you? Your little fling was the key that opened the door for my entrance into your world. And when I sensed what was to come from it, can you blame me for adding my own contribution?"

"Of course we can, you transparent turd!" Jessie shot back. "Who do you think you are, coming here and violating an innocent person?"

The shadow Gastly scoffed. "How innocent could he have been if he let a Pokémon deflower him?"

Meowth launched himself at the shadow, claws first. The shadow only laughed and disappeared while Meowth fell on his face.

"You can't stop what's coming in three days." The voice faded into the night. "On the third midnight, I will close the circle."

"What does he mean by 'planted the seed?'" Meowth brushed himself off and climbed back onto the altar.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good," Jessie said. She picked James up, bridal style (Meowth tried not to think anything of it, other than wishing he were taller). "We should get out of here."

"But that Gastly's still at large," Meowth protested.

"We need to think of an attack plan before we go after him." Jessie adjusted James's limp body so he could grab onto her shoulders. "Right now, let's just focus on damage control."

-O-o-O-

Back at their campsite, Jessie laid James down on a blanket while Meowth gathered water from a nearby stream. The white tank top and boxers lay in an ectoplasm-stained heap to the side.

"You can wash your underwear later. Right now, we have to clean that gunk off your junk," Jessie told James. James made a small movement to get up and help, but Jessie gently blocked him. "No, you need to rest."

Meowth brought over the pot of water. "Hopefully, this part'll be painless." He wet a rag and started to put it under James's skirt, but James abruptly pushed Meowth's paw away.

"James, we need to get that stuff off you!" Jessie insisted.

Meowth was frozen in his spot. "What's wrong?" he managed to ask.

James looked at Meowth with pure terror in his eyes. "Please, Meowth," he said in a quiet voice. "Don't touch me."

Meowth swore he'd frozen through to his heart which was now shattering. "But why?"

"Please? I…I can't…" James's body was racked with tremors—or barely suppressed sobs.

"Never mind that. I'll do it," Jessie cut in. She took the rag from Meowth and started the process.

"Oh. Okay." Meowth retreated. "I'll get more water." He grabbed another pot and hurried away before Jessie and James could notice any emotion.

-O-o-O-

James gripped the blanket beneath him as Jessie swept the rag over his sensitive area.

"Did that hurt?" Jessie asked.

"No." James seemed to be trying to flatten himself against the blanket. "I just keep seeing his face every time I close my eyes, and…" He stared ahead, attempting to put on a strong face, but the tears were already falling.

"Whose face? Meowth's?" Jessie asked as she dampened and wrung out the rag again.

James covered his face with his hands. "That—thing in the temple…" He sniffed. "He kept shape-shifting into Meowth. I closed my eyes, but he imitated Meowth's voice, saying the most horrible things while he…" James choked back sobs and took a deep breath. Jessie could feel his legs tense under her touch.

"You don't have to say what he did exactly," she reassured him. "I can put it together."

James stared straight ahead. "And the worst part is, he was right." He gripped the blanket again. "I let Meowth have sex with me, then I let that demon get me." He let out a joyless titter. "I really am a stupid whore."

Jessie had to resist the urge to slap the sense back into James. "You are not! Don't blame yourself for what that goddamn Gastly did to you. It's not your fault!" She pounded the ground beside James.

James looked thoroughly unconvinced and slightly scared.

Jessie sighed, trying to calm down. "Look, I've never been in your position before, but even if your thing with Meowth were related to that Gastly experience, you couldn't have possibly known that would happen. Just because you blasted off one Pokémon's rocket doesn't mean it's okay for another one to come and take you without your consent." She went back to cleaning off the ectoplasm. "Didn't anyone teach you about the facts of life?"

James turned his head away, the shame washing over his face.

"Holy crap. Nobody really told you anything useful about sex, did they?" Jessie asked.

"They told me only to do it to give them an heir. Meowth was my first." James shifted uncomfortably. "I did look up the basics so, no, I never believed one could get pregnant from a toilet seat. Meowth cleared some things up for me." He wiped his eyes again. "And I repay him by hurting him."

"He'll get over it. But about these things Meowth told you," Jessie asked, "Were they experiences with humans or with other Pokémon?"

"Other Pokémon." James looked confused. "Why? Is it different?"

Jessie dried the water from James's legs. "There are a few things Meowth might not have known about humans."

-O-o-O-

Meowth couldn't hear the conversation from his post at the stream. He wasn't sure he wanted to, especially when he heard Jessie's slightly raised voice over James's softer one.

He stared into the pot of water. The way James had looked at him haunted his mind like the words of the shadow Gastly. In the past, he may have wanted to intimidate James a little, but those days were long gone. He'd never wanted James to be abjectly terrified, especially not when all he wanted to do was help.

Meowth's mind drifted back to the words of the Gastly. "What is going to happen in three days? And what does it have to do with James and me?"

He watched a leaf float down and land in the pot of water, casting circular ripples over the surface. "What could he have meant by 'planting the seed?'"

He glanced up at the tent area. Jessie was rolling up the blanket and James was nowhere in sight.

"It might be safe," Meowth thought, though he wasn't sure what he was hiding from. He picked up the pot of water and carried it back to the camp. "How is he?"

"He's knocked out," Jessie said, nodding towards the tent.

"How'd you manage that?" Meowth asked. He would've thought James might have trouble sleeping after that ordeal.

"Strangely, I just waved a ball of catnip under his nose. He relaxed, and I guess exhaustion did the rest." Jessie shrugged. "I didn't realize it worked on humans."

"It doesn't," Meowth said. "Believe me, I've tried."

Jessie decided to ignore that remark for the moment. "He didn't get around to washing his underwear, so he's sleeping in that godawful grey sack. That thing's probably cursed, but I figured he didn't want to be undressed for a third time tonight."

"Probably not." Meowth poked at the pile of white undergarments.

"Anyway, there are probably a few things you should know about your…" Jessie pondered the appropriate wording. "…encounter with James."

Meowth gazed at her wearily. "I don't think this is the time to discuss our sex life."

Jessie rolled her eyes. "I don't want to hear about that. I meant, there are quirks of the human anatomy and possible consequences you might not have known about."

"What else is there to know? You put Tab A into Slot B or Slot C, and wear protection," Meowth said. "Unless you're from different egg groups, then you can go bareback."

"And we've cured all the diseases that could come from it," Jessie added. "But did you know that humans have an egg group, too?"

Meowth looked confused. "Humans lay eggs like Pokémon?"

"No, we have live births. But we do have eggs that get fertilized and grow into babies. A long time ago, before Pokémon came into existence through evolution, there used to be even more sexual dimorphism in humans than there is now."

"How much more difference could there possibly have been?" Meowth asked. "You and James are like night and day already."

"Well, for one, only one sex had the ability to carry and birth children. And the other only had the ability to make sperm to fertilize the eggs. But something in the evolution of humans changed, possibly around the time Pokémon started appearing. Humans started to develop gene mutations that allowed both genders to carry and fertilize eggs."

Meowth scratched his head. "Does anyone know how this happened?"

"It's thought that the ability was able to flourish because when many people were dying in Pokémon-related accidents, the ones with the mutation were able to make more children, who just happened to pass on their traits more frequently than those without. Pretty soon, all the humans in the world had the trait."

"So let me get this straight," Meowth said. "New-humans can both fertilize and bring fertilized eggs to term? But why do you and James still have different genders?"

"It's slightly easier for me to receive fertilization, so I'm female, and it's slightly easier for James to fertilize, so he's male," Jessie explained. "Give it a few billion years, and even that difference might not stick around."

"So this egg group humans have," Meowth said, "what does it have to do with all of this?"

"It turns out the egg groups for new-humans are human-form and field," Jessie said.

"Field…" It took a few seconds for the implications to sink in. "But that's my egg group, too." Meowth looked over at the tent. "Does this mean…"

Jessie bent down to Meowth's level. "Did you use protection with James?"

Meowth buried his face in his hands. "No. I didn't think I needed it. It would've really helped to know those new-human sex rules before."

"It probably would've helped James, too, considering he's the one who might be having your kitten," Jessie continued. "I already explained this to him, since he'd only been taught the basics."

Meowth averted his eyes. Maybe he should have waited a little longer to do that with James. "How do you know it'll be a kitten?"

"I learned how this all works when I tried to be a Pokémon nurse." Jessie twirled a twig in her fingers. "I guess it came in handy, after all."

Meowth got up the courage to peer at the tent once more. "Can we know for sure if it, y'know, took?"

"Not for at least three weeks." She stood up and went to the tent. "We'd better get some sleep. We have a lot to deal with tomorrow." She unzipped the flap. "I'll sleep next to James tonight."

Meowth turned back to the pile of ectoplasm-stained undergarments. He dragged the pot of water over to the pile. If he couldn't comfort James tonight, the least he could do was wash his underwear for him.

-O-o-O-o-O-


	3. Germination

**Warning:** There's a bit of gore (just blood on a dead Pokémon) and a very brief discussion of uncomfortable topics. Also, the mpreg thing is still happening.

-O-o-O-o-O-

The next morning, Jessie packed up the camp while James cooked a can of beans over the fire. They hadn't yet decided if they were going to leave the forest or go back to their cabin base. They wanted revenge on that Gastly, but James would probably need medical help first.

Meowth, having refilled their water bottles, sat and watched James. He hoped he hadn't seemed creepy when he handed him the freshly washed white nightshirt and boxers earlier that morning. James had still seemed somewhat apprehensive as he thanked Meowth. They'd both been very careful not to let flesh touch fur during the exchange.

But that bit of tension had been nothing compared to last night. Jessie had slept in the spot next to James (the spot usually reserved for Meowth) in case she needed to check on him after any distress. However, it turned out James wasn't the type to have scream-himself-awake nightmares, and Jessie didn't seem to notice the clenching of James's legs or his trembling. Meowth dared not touch James, even to comfort him, lest he make the nightmares worse.

Even now, Meowth wasn't sure how to proceed. So far, the only interaction they'd had today was the underwear thing. Meowth had started to look for any signs of a possible delicate condition in James, but remembered it would be too early.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when James offered him a plate of food. "Did she give you the talk, too?" he asked Meowth.

Meowth blinked, then nodded. "Thanks," he said, taking the plate.

James tried to smile, but it came out forced. "About what I said last night—"

"It's okay, James," Meowth cut in. "I wouldn't want to be touched after that, either."

James hung his head. "I never meant to hurt you. I only thought that…" He sighed, collecting his thoughts. "If we touch again, something worse might happen. That thing might come after you."

Meowth fidgeted with his fork. "It's probably best we don't anger it again."

James looked like he wanted to say more, but Jessie came over to the fire. "Let's hurry up so we can get out of this forest."

They ate their breakfast in silence. Once they were on the road, however, the discussion flared up. Jessie and Meowth walked ahead while James lagged behind, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"We can't leave the forest yet," Meowth argued. "We gotta get that Gastly!"

"We can get revenge later. Right now we should probably get back to civilization and find a hospital," Jessie said.

"But don't you remember what he said? That he's gonna 'close the circle' in three days? By the time we get outta here, those three days could be up and who knows what horrible crap could happen then?"

"I'm sure we'll find a way out before then. We can't wait too long, otherwise you and James won't have much of a choice." She looked at Meowth out of the corner of her eye. "You do realize you have choices, right?"

"We can keep the kitten or put the kitten up for adoption," Meowth said. "Both can be done after we defeat that demon."

Jessie scanned the area for eavesdroppers. "Or," she said in a lowered voice, "you could just nip the whole thing in the bud."

Meowth stopped dead in his tracks. "What are you suggesting?" Next to him, James stood, clutching his own torso protectively and staring at the ground.

Jessie stopped to face them. "There are places in town where they can end it before it's born."

Meowth stared, not sure whether to feel relieved or disturbed. "Is that really a thing we should do?"

"It's a thing you _could_ do," Jessie said, her voice carefully impassive.

Meowth shook his head, not in dissent, but in confusion. "I can't believe that's a actually a thing that can be done. It's just so weird." For once, Jessie wasn't arguing with him, but he sort of wished she would. At least then he might be able to figure out what they should do.

"Look, you need to know about all your options, even the 'weird' ones. Besides, it's mostly James's choice, anyway, so you'll have to talk it over together," Jessie continued.

At that moment, James ran off to the bushes, knelt down, and started to vomit. Jessie ran over to him, with Meowth following, and held back his hair.

"At least he does it neatly," Jessie sighed as she easily dodged the flow.

They were so preoccupied they didn't notice the footsteps behind them. "Team Rocket?"

Jessie and Meowth turned to see Ash, Misty, and Brock staring at them.

"What're you twerps staring at?" Jessie asked, helping to steady James, who was wiping his mouth.

"We thought you were going to cause trouble," Brock said, "but we can see you have other things to do."

Jessie stood up. "Yeah, well, all of you better prepare for trouble!"

James bent over to vomit again. "Not today."

"He's right, Jessie," Meowth cut in. "Forget the twerps. We need to get James out of this forest."

"Yeah, about that…" Ash scratched the back of his head. "We tried to leave a few minutes ago."

"But there was some kind of force field blocking us," Misty continued.

"Why should that stop you? Can't your Pikachu shock through it?" Jessie folded her arms and turned back to James.

"We tried that. It didn't work," Ash said.

"And when we tried to use our other Pokémon to get out, a disembodied voice told us that nobody could leave the forest until he could 'close the circle,' whatever that means," Brock finished.

All three Team Rocket members turned to face them, icy chills running down their backs. "He said, 'close the circle?'" Meowth said in a small voice.

"Those were the words used," Brock said. "He also said it's supposed to happen in three days, when someone called the 'corrupted seed' is to be born."

Meowth took a shaky step forward. "Were there any Pokémon in the area?"

"Dexter said there was a Gastly," Ash said. "But that couldn't be." He suddenly seemed unsure. "Could it?"

Jessie and Meowth stared at each other in horror. James hid his face in his hands. Suddenly, it all made sense. Planting the seed. Shaping its development. The red ectoplasm caked on James's nether regions. James's current condition.

Closing the circle in three days.

"You three weren't thinking of stealing that Gastly, were you?" Misty asked, side-eyeing the trio.

Meowth glared back at her. "Trust us. We want nothing to do with that Gastly outside of revenge."

Misty recoiled slightly. "Sorry I asked."

"But why would you want revenge on the Gastly?" Brock asked.

"It probably blasted them off again," Ash snickered. He quickly went quiet when Meowth lunged at him, claws drawn, stopping just short of his face.

"What that Gastly did was worse than any blast-off your Pikachu could give us," Meowth growled. Jessie put a hand on James's shoulder protectively and glared at Ash. James saw her other hand curl up into a fist and begged, "Please don't fight them. They didn't know."

"Know what?" Ash asked, still somewhat suspicious.

"None of your business, twerp!" Jessie shot back.

James grabbed Jessie's wrist. "No fighting."

"He's right. If we ever want to get out of here, we should probably work together," Brock said.

Jessie, James, and Meowth stared at each other. Working with the twerps would probably mean camping out with them and, eventually, telling them the horrific details of their involvement. They may have been Team Rocket members, but not even they wanted to expose their twerpy little minds to _that_.

"We need a minute to think it over," Meowth said. Then the three of them huddled in the bushes.

"Is there a way we could do this without telling them everything?" Jessie whispered.

James kept his eyes planted on the ground. "They're going to find out in three days, if not sooner," he whispered. "If we even survive that long."

"Of course we'll survive that long," Jessie insisted. "Maybe that Gastly's plan to corrupt your unborn child was aborted."

"He's a supernatural being, Jessie. He can force it to work."

"You three are taking a long time over there," Ash said, looking sideways at them.

Meowth brought them back on topic. "We can keep them on a need-to-know basis. When they need to know, we'll tell them. We might not even have to." He turned back to the twerps. "All right. It's a truce."

Brock and Misty seemed satisfied, but Ash still eyed them suspiciously. "We'll still be keeping an eye on you three."

It was going to be a long three days.

-O-o-O-

The only available shelter in the forest was Team Rocket's cabin, so both parties agreed to go there. Judging from the frequency of trees with a cat hieroglyph scratched into the trunks, they weren't too far from it.

However, the walk was long enough for the twerps' suspicion to grow.

"Is he all right?" Misty asked when James ran off into the bushes for the second time.

"It's just a bug," Meowth said, before going after him.

James was kneeling in the bush and wiping his mouth as Meowth approached. "They know something's up. I can see it on their faces," he said.

"I'm sure they don't suspect a thing," Meowth reassured him.

James glanced back at the group nervously. "Even if they did trust us, how are any of us going to defeat that Gastly?" He shifted to a kneeling position. "Ghost types are bad against poison types, but I don't know if Arbok and Weezing can handle this."

"We've got Wobbuffet for backup. We can at least make a dent in that thing," Meowth said. He looked back at the others, who were resting by the road. "And if we can't handle it, the twerps probably can."

"Probably." James rested his hands on his knees. "But if the Pokémon can't win, it might be up to us to stop that Gastly." He peered up at Meowth, almost shyly. "You wouldn't happen to know any witchcraft, would you?"

Meowth shook his head. "Not anything I haven't seen in movies. And from the looks of those tools in the temple, that would be useless against that demon."

James sighed. "If Pokémon powers and human skills fail us, I don't know what our third option could be. Maybe there's a talisman we could make to fight it, but I don't really know any spells." He wrung his hands. "And I don't even know what we'll do about the kitten," he continued, his voice faltering.

Meowth stopped himself before he could touch James reassuringly. "We'll think of something. One of our plans has to work at least once, right?"

James tried to smile. "Right." He raised a hand in the perfect position to caress, but dropped it. "Sorry." He dropped his gaze. "This not-touching thing is hard."

Meowth crept closer. All he wanted at that moment was to make James feel safe again. "That monster would come after us no matter what we did, you know." Unfortunately, his motor mouth had other plans.

"Are you two all right over there?"

They turned and were surprised to see Misty approaching them with a concerned expression. Even though they weren't scheming, they couldn't help but feel like they'd been caught.

"We're just fine," Meowth said. He turned to James. "We'd better get back to the others."

James nodded. "Sure."

The group continued to the cabin, with Jessie, James, and Meowth leading the way and Ash following a safe distance behind. Misty fell back a few feet to Brock, who was bringing up the rear, and sidled up to him.

"Have you noticed how James and Meowth are acting?" she whispered.

Brock cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

Misty glanced ahead to make sure the others weren't listening. "When I went to check on them in the bush, they were getting awfully close to each other. And they were acting all nervous when they realized I was there."

Brock raised an eyebrow, concerned. "You don't think they're plotting something, do you?"

"They didn't seem to be, but…" Misty looked ahead to where James and had stopped in the bushes, again, while Jessie held his hair back and Meowth waited to the side. "Maybe we should keep an extra close eye on them anyway. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like they're hiding something from us."

Next to the bushes, Jessie took a water canteen out of their pack and handed it to James, who pushed it away. "You need to drink. You're probably dehydrated," Jessie insisted. She then noticed that James wasn't even looking in her direction, but at something in the distance. "Oh, no."

"What?" Meowth turned from the log he was using as a scratching post and followed Jessie's gaze.

Past the bushes was a barren clearing. In the center of the clearing was a stone slab and on it lay, supine, a dead Fearow. Judging from the lack of visible decomposition and the blood dripping from its chest wound, it was a very recent kill.

"Oh, shit. James, don't look up." Meowth shielded his eyes, turning away. He received no answer. "James?"

Meowth's fur stood on end at what he saw. Not only was James staring intently at the Fearow's blood-soaked breast, but also there was a disturbing glint of hunger in the green eyes. It was all Jessie and Meowth could do to keep their jaws off the ground.

The twerps were just as horrified when they caught up. "What even?" was all Ash could manage, while Brock and Misty were speechless.

Jessie recovered first. She grabbed James by the shoulders and shook him. "What are you thinking of?!"

James's eyelids fluttered. When he finally registered what he was looking at, he recoiled from the scene. "I don't know what came over me."

Jessie handed him the canteen. "Drink," she commanded.

James obeyed, then capped the bottle. "I don't know why, but I had the unsettling urge to…" He trailed off, struggling to get the words out. "This is going to sound bizarre, but…"

Meowth and Jessie leaned closer. "Tell us." The twerps edged closer, listening.

James's eyes darted fearfully. "I wanted to drink its blood."

The twerps shuddered. Jessie averted her eyes. Meowth was the only one who dared to attempt eye contact. "But why?"

James ran a shaking hand through his hair. "I don't even like the sight of blood." He shivered at the memory of the corpse. "Maybe it's the demon-Gastly. Maybe his corruption of—" He cut himself off, remembering their "need-to-know" plan. "Maybe he found a way to not only lock down the forest, but to possess people," he continued hastily.

"But why would the Gastly want to possess you?" Ash asked. "Why not a Pokémon, like Pikachu or Meowth?"

"Probably to send a message or something. James is just easier to possess, since he's under the weather right now," Meowth quickly explained. "But the sooner we get to the cabin, the safer we'll all be."

Jessie, James, and Meowth got to their feet and started down the trail again. The twerps followed hesitantly.

"I don't buy that explanation," Ash said.

"Neither do I," Misty agreed.

"As soon as we get to that cabin, we're going to get to the bottom of this," Brock said, as they followed Team Rocket deeper into the woods.

-O-o-O-o-O-


End file.
